An open letter to University Counsel Paul Tanaka:

Like Story County Attorney Steve Holmes, I think your sense of timing leaves a great deal to be desired. Why would you introduce a riot rule around the one year anniversary of the Veishea riot? To most older adults, April 18, 2004 is insignificant, yet almost all ISU students know its importance. The gulf in understanding between you and the student body is staggering. I think your decision was very insensitive. I have always thought some type of mediation process is in order to contribute to the understanding of both sides. You clearly are not seeing the student body as a disadvantaged class … or maybe you are and that’s why you and your cohorts feel so comfortable driving your misguided agendas.

Part of the problem is the way decisions are imposed on students. This leads to low student morale and a few disgruntled subgroups. The Thursday Ames Tribune, covering a story about a student-financed survey, stated “During the Veishea task force meetings, ISU student Tony Borich, the primary investigator of the survey, named large, problematic off-campus parties as the root cause of the riots. Survey results showed more students felt student alienation, by both university and city policies, played more of a factor than the large off-campus parties.” Although Dean of Students Pete Englin tried to downplay this survey finding, it is likely that a larger survey sponsored by Iowa State would lead to even more embarrassing results.

Your poor choices and poor policies are what create the divisiveness that plagues Iowa State and other large universities.

Your poor decisions are the reason large universities suffer with social discord. That is why I am further troubled that you and your cohorts are planning a summit in the fall with other universities where all you will do, like with the Veishea committees, is control the agenda and validate each others ill-conceived and socially damaging policies.

The Story County Board of Supervisors saw fit to table the keg registration ordinance until the fall because it is such a hurtful issue. I would encourage you to go through with the forum as a teaching tool, and, like the officials at Story County, seek a more humane outcome by tabling the issue until the fall.

Jon Shelness

Alumnus

Slater